Letters
by teezymcgee
Summary: Based on a prompt I saw somewhere. Link and Zelda write each other letters, and Link sees the Princess in a new light.


"Another letter for you, sir!"

The postman's voice was loud and shrill, and Link wondered absently why the white-clad letter carrier never appeared out of breath, despite having sprinted for what must have been miles. Link smiled pleasantly and took the plain white envelope from his outstretched hands.

"Thank you." He said, rifling through his wallet for a tip. He retrieved a yellow rupee and handed it over as he pocketed the letter.

"Oh no, thank YOU. All these letters you've been getting are keeping me in business, and not to mention in shape. Anyway, I've gotta run. See you next time!"

And with that, the postman dashed away. Link, meanwhile, made his way to a nearby bench and sat down. He sighed with satisfaction at the unexpected feeling of relief that sitting brought, and it occurred to him that he'd probably been on his feet all day. He'd been sent to this remote village, a ways east of Faron Woods, in response to reports the castle had received of monster sightings in the area. He spent most of the day asking questions and checking out the surrounding woodland with little to show for it. It was just as he'd decided to give up and start heading back to Castle town when the Postman found him.

All that was forgotten, however, as Link reached into his pocket and pulled out the small parcel. A white envelope, bearing no words but his own name, and Link grinned as he noticed how fully stuffed the little envelope was. That meant a long letter, and those were his favorites.

Who knew the Princess of Hyrule could be so chatty?

He carefully opened it and set to work reading.

 _ **Link,**_

 _ **I was out riding this morning and I saw a wolf. At least, I think I did. I only caught a glimpse before it disappeared into a small cave. She (I decided she was a girl) was probably getting ready for bed. Wolves are nocturnal right?**_

 _ **Naturally, it made me think of you. Do you ever miss being a wolf? It must have been fun talking to animals. I was in a council meeting the other day and my mind drifted to that story you told me with the cuckoos and the barrel. I burst out laughing in the middle of some horribly boring discussion. So now if any council members think I'm crazy, it's your fault.**_

 _ **How goes the monster hunt? Slain any dragons yet? Or is it another wild goose chase? I guess you can't fault the people being a bit paranoid, considering all they've been through. Still, it seems like you're always running from one corner of the realm to another. How is Epona holding up? Ask her if she misses Agadez. I know he misses her. It doesn't take a wolf to know that much.**_

 _ **Oh, that reminds me! I was...**_

Link chuckled to himself as he read, and he had a hard time keeping the smile from his face. The casual tone she used was a far cry from her first written message to him, highly formal and largely impersonal. It actually began by addressing him with his full title "Sir Link, First Captain of the Castle Guard." It had been a LONG time since she'd called him that with any seriousness.

Of course, outside of their written correspondence he was still Sir Link. Anything more familiar would be downright scandalous.

Truth be told, Link was rather surprised when the Princess initially suggested that they begin exchanging letters. She first brought it up almost 8 months ago, after he'd finished giving report on one of his earliest field assignments. It was actually a mission rather similar to the one he found himself on now, with a similarly dull result. They'd been taking a walk through the castle courtyard, enjoying the fair spring weather when she suddenly broached the subject.

"Sir Link, I do enjoy our conversations." She said, as she studied a nearby flowerbed.

"Um, I do too, your highness. Though I'd hardly call the occasional field report a conversation."

"I absolutely agree." She stopped and turned to him, looking him in the eye and making him feel rather self-conscious as he noticed for the first time that her light blue eyes actually had subtle traces of gold. He later thought that it was extremely fitting. Something about being a born queen right down to the gold in her eyes. Whatever, he was no poet.

"I think I'd enjoy talking with you more." She continued "Would you be amenable to writing letters? I know your duties take you away from the castle often, I think I would enjoy hearing about your travels."

"I would like that, Your Highness." He tried not to let his voice betray his surprise at her suggestion. She smiled demurely, and Link could have sworn he saw a slight pink tint in her cheeks as she turned her attention back to their walk.

"Wonderful."

/scene/

He couldn't resist reading a few more paragraphs before tucking the paper away. The rest could be saved for when he had a bit more privacy. With a tired groan, he stood up and started towards the inn he'd called home for the last 4 nights.

/scene/

Link had rented his share of rooms over the years, and as beds in small country inns went, this one was actually rather comfortable. Big enough, and plenty soft and warm. Most nights, Link would have been more than happy to sink into it and sleep until late morning at least.

This night, however, found him sitting at the old wooden desk with the full moon and a half burned candle as his only light. Zelda's letter lay on the desk, neatly refolded as Link dipped his trusty quill pen into an inkwell that the kindly old innkeeper had managed to scrounge up for him. He remembered how nervous he was when he wrote his first letter to her. He fretted over everything from his vocabulary to his penmanship. He cringed a bit as he recalled a particularly embarrassing bit of obsequiousness he'd included, something overly-flattering about her choice of flowers in the castle gardens. It seemed so ridiculous now, when the words came so easily.

It wasn't long before they dropped the pretense, and soon they were like old friends. They continued writing to each other even when Link wasn't away from the castle. They rationalized that it had simply become habit by that point, but he knew the truth and he suspected that she did as well, though neither one of them said it. They both grew to treasure the closeness that the privacy of their letters granted them.

He discovered that her sense of humor was kind of silly, and that she loved animals. He occasionally included doodles, and she once wrote him that one of his drawings, a caricature of a particularly short, obnoxious duke, was pinned to her vanity. That was something he was singularly proud of.

And so he wrote. He wrote about the inn, about the sweet old innkeeper and his sweet old wife. He asked her about things at the castle, how she was handling her responsibilities, whether she was getting enough sleep. He didn't realize until he'd nearly finished that his letter had become nearly as long as hers, which was rare. After letting the ink dry, he folded the parchment and tucked it into a makeshift envelope, tying it together with some string. Earlier that day he saw a mailbox near the village square. He'd drop it off there in the morning.

His tiredness returned to him suddenly, and with a vengeance. He collapsed into bed, and fell asleep with his boots on.

/scene/

The weeks went by, and the letters continued. Link and Zelda would see each other in court or on the castle grounds, and trade knowing smiles about their latest messages, and laugh about their inside jokes. There was a certain excitement to be had in keeping it secret, and before long Link found himself counting his days from one letter to the next. He came to cherish the delicate loops and crosses of her beautiful handwriting. And in those times he was traveling throughout Hyrule in service to the Crown, he would re-read his favorite lines to tide him over between messages.

It was especially fun for Link to watch Zelda act as a monarch now that he knew what she was really like. He knew the woman underneath that regal bearing, and he took pride in the knowledge that she saved it for him alone. He'd smile inwardly as she conducted herself with the grace and wisdom of a future queen. She really was remarkable.

"They must be good news." The postman once remarked as he stowed the red rupee Link handed him after delivering another plain white envelope. Blank but for the word "LINK," like always. Link was on yet another one of his seemingly endless monster hunts. Part of him enjoyed actually finding a monster, even if it was only ever a Skulltula nest or the occasional stray Bokoblin pack. It made it feel like he wasn't completely wasting his time.

"What do you mean?" Link asked.

"These letters you keep getting. They must be good news, seeing as you're always beaming when I give you one." He leaned in, talking a bit quieter. Or rather, a bit less loudly. "Got a sweetheart back home?"

"Oh no no. Nothing like that." Link stammered quickly. He tucked away the letter, realizing how strange that must have seemed. He scratched his neck awkwardly. "But yeah, they're good news. Good news." Not making it better, Link.

"Oh, well okay then. Good. See you next time!" And off he went.

/scene/

This letter seemed to have something besides paper inside. He opened the envelope, and removed what turned out to be a small black and white pictograph. It was a picture of Zelda herself, and his heart skipped a beat as he realized that she was in her bedroom. She was wearing a beautiful gown and her hair was done up in a style he'd never her seen her with. She was breathtaking, color or no.

 _ **Dear Link,**_

 _ **Farore's Festival is in a few weeks. I hope you'll be home by then. I had this bizarre dream last night, and I know how boring it is to hear people talk about their bizarre dreams but I'm going to tell you anyway. So I dreamed that we lived in a floating city, and we both had giant birds as pets that we rode through the clouds. Mine was a boy and yours was a girl, just like Agadez and Epona! I wasn't a princess or anything, were were just two ordinary people. That was nice.**_

 _ **But anyways, Farore's Festival. You need to make sure you're back in Caste Town by then. She's the Goddess of Courage, after all. It wouldn't do not having the bearer of the Triforce of Courage in attendance. I included a pictograph of me wearing the gown I'll have on during the festival. I only wish you could see the color! It's forest green, naturally. Do you like it? You should send me a picture of yourself if you can get your hands on a pictograph. Or at least draw one. I'd love to see how well the master caricature artist can draw himself! Think you're up for it?**_

 _ **Signed,**_

 _ **Zelda**_

 _ **PS Watch out for Spider Webs**_

Link snorted at her final line. The last time he and Zelda had been out walking, Link had less than gracefully walked through a spider web. Zelda's chuckles turned into a genuine and highly undignified roar of laughter as he batted frantically at his face, swatting his own nose in his efforts to remove the silken webs. "The spider was still in it!" He argued as she eventually caught her breath. He'd make sure to remind her of that in his response. He took a last look at her picture before carefully stowing it in his bag.

/scene/

Link had become accustomed to receiving letters about twice a week. So it was a bit vexing when a week and a half went by with no plain white envelope. He'd see her around the castle every so often, and they might converse briefly about the state of the kingdom or other official knightly business. Link would never be so bold as to come out and ask why she hadn't written him, at least not in person. And she didn't bring it up either. But whenever they spoke, it was clear they both felt the weight of the unasked question.

As the days went by, Link's insecurities nagged at him. Had she grown tired of writing to him? Had he said something wrong? Why did he care so much? He hadn't expected to become so emotionally invested in their little correspondence, and now that it looked like it might be coming to an end...

He was even more relieved than he expected to be when he walked into his room one night and saw a small white envelope waiting for him. He hurried over to it and inspected it hopefully, and was not disappointed to find it completely blank but for his name. He laid in bed and lit the candle next to him as he opened the letter hastily and began reading.

 _ **Dear Link,**_

 _ **I'm really sorry it's been so long since my last letter. Believe me I wanted to write to you sooner, I've just been so terribly busy these last few nights so I haven't had many chances. I don't think I've mentioned this to you before, but I'm very careful only to write these things when I have complete privacy, and lately I feel like that's hardly ever the case. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's changing any time soon. Ever since I turned 20 (And I know I said this when you gave it to me, but thank you SO MUCH for the necklace by the way! I couldn't exactly say it in front of everyone but it really was my favorite present. Did you notice that I had it on when we talked the other day? Now that I think about it, I don't think I've taken it off since then. It's a good thing you didn't get me a dress or I'd stink by now hee hee.)**_

 _ **Anyway, like I was saying, ever since I turned 20 the council has been pressuring me to start looking for a husband. I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do about that. It just feels so intrusive and insulting and I feel like a political tool and I really just hate the whole thing. Ugh.**_

 _ **Sorry about all the complaining. How have you been? I'm glad that you liked my little picture. I'm still waiting on one of you, mister! That last one doesn't count, I wanted more than a stick figure with the word "Link" written under it. The little hat was a nice touch though. Do you even still have that thing? I always thought it was cute.**_

 _ **Signed,**_

 _ **Zelda**_

A Husband. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised by that. And he certainly shouldn't have been disappointed, or jealous. But he was all of those things and more as he folded up her letter and put it with the others in the locked chest underneath his bed. He'd get to work on his response tomorrow. For tonight, he needed to think of what the hell he was going to say. There was no denying it any more, though.

He loved her. And he was going to lose her.

/scene/

He never figured out what to say, so he chose to say nothing. He responded to her letter by promptly changing the subject. He gave a gracious "you're welcome" in regard to the necklace, then dove into something, anything else but marriage and courtship. Even thinking about it made him sick to his stomach, but he found that he could think of nothing else. Every word he penned felt hollow and forced. The thrill he used to feel upon seeing one of her letters had turned to dread. His fingers practically trembled as he opened them, fearing that she'd tell him she'd chosen someone. That it would be her last letter, since certainly no husband to-be would approve of his betrothed sending clandestine messages to some other man. He knew Zelda could sense this, and she tried her best to cheer up the now sullen hero.

Link could feel that he was pushing her away, and he hated himself for it. He hated his cowardice, and his selfishness. She needed someone to be strong, and he was failing her. Her letters became less and less frequent. He figured it wouldn't be long before they stopped coming all together.

/scene/

Three weeks had passed since her last letter. They crossed paths in the southern castle garden and she quickly averted her eyes and hurried past. His heart broke a little as he realized it was in that very garden that she had first suggested they write each other. That was almost two years ago. He'd gotten so close to her since then. Closer than he'd ever been to another person. It was then that he knew what he needed to do. He took a deep breath and headed to his quarters to do some writing.

/scene/

What was he doing here?

He held in his hands a letter to Zelda, and in a burst of foolhardiness and desperation, he was actually considering sending it. He went over its contents in his head again and again as he tried to simultaneously talk himself in and out of going through with it.

The making of this letter was an ordeal in and of itself. He'd faced a lot of hard truths last night as he pored over the paper on his dimly lit desk. Crumpled and scribbled out papers surrounded him and he rubbed his temples with a frustration he hadn't felt since he first began writing her. Nothing sounded right. He cursed his own in-eloquence.

Finally, after a full night of failed drafts, he settled on what he held now. A simple confession of his feelings for her. He would lay it all on the line, and that would be it. If nothing else, it would clear the air between them. He owed her that much.

His pacing was interrupted by the sound of light footsteps on the stone stairway behind him. The only other person awake at this early hour. He looked up from the envelope in his hands and saw the Princess standing before him.

"Would that be a letter for me?" She asked. His ears perked up as he looked at her face. That voice. In that little question, he heard a voice he'd heard a thousand times before, but never out loud. It was the lilting, playful voice that she saved for her letters to him. It was the voice he'd fallen in love with. Hearing it now, he knew it was a voice that he wanted her to share with him and him alone.

"Something like that." He said making his way toward her with deliberate steps. Her eyes never left his until they were face to face.

"Link, I'm so sorry." She started, but he shook his head.

"You've got nothing to apologize for, Zelda." In spite of himself, he savored saying her name with no titles in front of it.

"I wanted to write you so badly." She half whispered. "I just ran out of things to say."

"It's my fault." he took her hand and gently placed his letter in it. "Please just read this. You don't have to respond. I just want you to read it."

She nodded, clutching the letter tightly as she watched him walk away.

/scene/

The long letters were usually his favorites. He loved how she lost herself in her stories, and rambled on. She sounded carefree, and that was a feeling she deserved to have.

His favorite letter, though, was the shortest one she ever sent him. It was waiting for him when he walked into his room that evening. No envelope, just a folded piece of white paper. Four words in her beautiful script.

When he read it, he turned and dashed from his room, across the courtyard toward the castle proper, the note still in his hand. He was headed for her chambers, but stopped mid way when he saw her sitting in the garden looking at him with a smile. He approached her for the second time that day, and secretly marveled at how different it felt this time. There was no dread, no jealousy, no hopelessness. There was just love.

He knelt before her as she sat, and looked into her eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing. She simply watched him with laughter in her eyes.

"You can kiss me now, if you want."

And he did. So he did.


End file.
